{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=137636","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=137634","results":[{"id":1392761,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1392761/?format=json","text_counter":673,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kibwezi West, MCCP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mwengi Mutuse","speaker":null,"content":" Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. At the outset, I wish to register my support for the proposed amendments by the State Law Office as moved on the Floor of the House by the Leader of the Majority Party and as amended through the Report by the Joint Committee of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs and the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs. The initial Report was tabled in this House on 21st February and the Addendum was tabled before the House on 12th March 2024. I speak about these reports because there may be confusion in the original text. The original texts of the Bills that have been proposed for amendment have been altered by amendments that were brought through public participation and committee reports. Procedurally, they will be prosecuted when the Committee of the whole House is convened. That is the information we wanted to give to Hon. Members. Hon. Temporary Speaker, the National Government Administration Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.73 of 2023) principally proposed to amend four statutes. The first one being the Assumption of the Office of the President Act, which appears to have a consensus, that it is justified for the President elect to be given prominence, in the committee preparing his assumption of office. Therefore, the additional number of nominees by the President elect to six from the current two appears not controversial. Thus, I will say very little about it."},{"id":1392762,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1392762/?format=json","text_counter":674,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kibwezi West, MCCP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mwengi Mutuse","speaker":null,"content":"The second law that is proposed for amendment is the National Security Council Act, 2012. The amendment was speaking to formation of the committees. One, was to add the National Security Advisor to be a member of the National Security Council. It has been ably articulated that it was unconstitutional. You cannot expand particularly Article 240 of the Constitution through legislation. That principally is not known in law."},{"id":1392763,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1392763/?format=json","text_counter":675,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kibwezi West, MCCP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mwengi Mutuse","speaker":null,"content":"Two, the committee also reasoned that advisors in their very nature are personal staff to the appointing authority. A President may choose to have a security advisor while another may choose not to. Therefore, if we legislate that the National Security Advisor shall and must be the Secretary to the National Security Council Committee, you will be tying a future President who may not be interested in having a security advisor."},{"id":1392764,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1392764/?format=json","text_counter":676,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kibwezi West, MCCP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mwengi Mutuse","speaker":null,"content":"There are many advisors a President may want like economic, gender and legal issues. The question that begs an answer, and why we proposed an amendment was what happens to other advisors, if we elevate one advisor to the level of a constitutional office holder. That is why the Committee in its Report proposed that the amendments to the National Security Council Act, 2012 be deleted and the current situation continues to prevail. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"},{"id":1392765,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1392765/?format=json","text_counter":677,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kibwezi West, MCCP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mwengi Mutuse","speaker":null,"content":"The amendment to the National Security Council Act, 2012 was proposing a committee of principal secretaries which was going to take away the role of the National Security Council Committee. We thought this was unnecessary because it would introduce unnecessary bureaucracy. The current law requires and gives options to the National Security Council Committee to adopt members. Therefore, there is no need to legislate on that which can be operationalised, using the current law."},{"id":1392766,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1392766/?format=json","text_counter":678,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kibwezi West, MCCP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mwengi Mutuse","speaker":null,"content":"Hon. Temporary Speaker, the third piece of legislation that was sought to be amended is the Office of the Attorney-General Act. The amendment speaks to the Public Seal of the Republic of Kenya currently deposited with the Attorney-General. This amendment was seeking to move it from the Office of the Attorney-General to the Office of the Head of Public Service. The Committee in its wisdom thought that was a misnomer. It is important for the House to know that the Public Seal is a constitutional symbol provided for in the Schedules to the Constitution. Therefore, it is not an option. The emblem itself is provided for in the Constitution and it must be treated with a lot of seriousness. The Attorney-General, being the office created by the Constitution under Article 156 as the Chief Legal Advisor to the Government even on matters of contracts, is the best placed office to be deposited the Public Seal. The Committee thought that amendment in itself was mischievous and there was possibility, if the Public Seal is moved from the Office of the Attorney-General to an office within the presidency, to be subject to abuse. There may be a good President today, and a bad one tomorrow. So, we must legislate for posterity."},{"id":1392767,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1392767/?format=json","text_counter":679,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kibwezi West, MCCP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mwengi Mutuse","speaker":null,"content":"Hon. Temporary Speaker, allow me to speak in detail about the fourth piece of legislation that this law seeks to amend, which is the National Government Co-ordination Act, 2013. The amendments to the National Government Coordination Act, 2013 seeks to introduce two offices. First, is the Office of the Head of Public Service. As has been articulated, this office has existed in our governance architecture since Independence. At the time we did our Constitution in 2010, it did not appear that we should expressly provide for it. This practise has continued from 2013 and successive Presidents elected under the new Constitution, have always had the Office of the Head of Public Service. As ably articulated by Senior Counsel Hon. (Dr) Otiende Amollo, courts have had occasion to interpret the legality of the Office of the Head of Public Service. They have returned the verdict that any President in office, is at liberty to appoint a Head of Public Service."},{"id":1392768,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1392768/?format=json","text_counter":680,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kibwezi West, MCCP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mwengi Mutuse","speaker":null,"content":"What is the rationale for us legislating for the position of Head of Public Service? Government exists in two faces, if I may say so. There is a political face because a President is elected through an election and he becomes the Chief Executive of the country, through a manifesto and pledges. There is the proper public service, which is the traditional civil service of public servants who are ordinarily expected to be neutral. One must create an interface between the proper public service and the political system that comes with the election of a President, who is the Chief Executive of the country. The rationale to justify the creation of the Office of the Head of Public Office is so that as the titular head of the executive office of the President, he can create the necessary interface between the political system and the proper public service."},{"id":1392769,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1392769/?format=json","text_counter":681,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kibwezi West, MCCP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mwengi Mutuse","speaker":null,"content":"We supported the amendment because this has been the practise which has existed. The fact it has not been in law is even a greater justification for it to be included in legislation. So that we do not do things out of whims or personality, but because the law says so. We find every justification in law and practise for the creation of the Office of the Head of Public Service."},{"id":1392770,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1392770/?format=json","text_counter":682,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kibwezi West, MCCP","speaker_title":"Hon. Mwengi Mutuse","speaker":null,"content":"This office is not being created for a particular individual or person in mind. It is being created for posterity. This law will survive the current Government and will be there to guide future governments. Therefore, I urge this House to look at it not from the perspective of this Government or current holder of office, but for posterity. An important factor that we have The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"}]}